An Unforgettable Christmas Eve
by JarvelousLady
Summary: Peggy is having a good time at the Jarvises during Christmas Eve. How do things go when Howard notice a mistletoe hanging above Peggy and Jarvis?


I hope you'll enjoy reading this OS and I wish a Merry Christmas to you all! :)

If I made some mistakes, I'm truly sorry. English is not my mothertongue, me being French and all. ^^'

An Unforgettable Christmas Eve

It was an agreeable evening Peggy was spending with the Jarvis couple. The young woman was sitting by the living room window, serenely watching the snow falling in the garden with a cup of tea in her hands. She was on a break for the holidays that Chief Sousa imposed on her despite her protest. She admitted to herself that it was nice to be accorded some sort of rest. Her missions were not so numerous these days and some other Agent was surely assigned to the task in her stead anyway.

It appeared to her that it might be the first time in forever that she felt so relaxed and at peace after the war and her job at the SSR took hold of her life. She rarely had any time for herself and this time off was an unexpected occasion.

Watching all that white snow accumulated in the garden reminded her of those times a long time ago in England when Michael and herself played in the snow in their home's backyard at this time of the year. What a blessed time it was... Nothing could trouble their innocent minds. _Living was so simple back then_ , she thought smiling to herself.

But this was not the only memory that view brought back. It also reminded her of that time not so far back in her memory when herself and the Howling Commandos had to pass a night through a blizzard near the Lithuanian border during the war. That though sent a shiver down her spine. She then forced herself to remember that she was now far away from that time, sitting comfortably on her favourite spot on the window sill with a roaring fire burning in the hearth. Yes, that time was far long gone...

And still, strangely, some part of her missed that time of her past. Not all the horrible things that is. Of course not. Everyone suffered back then. She suffered back then. The suffering had not disappeared since. Not even diminished. But she had to live with it. And maybe someday, the suffering would turn into something more...bearable? Yet, from time to time, some good memories resurfaced: the respect and merits that she so well deserved nowadays which were recognised by all back then, that special comradeship she shared so easily with men, that particular relationship she shared with a certain Captain...

Gosh, how she missed Steve...

At this moment, her thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell ringing.

"Could you get it dear?" asked Jarvis, his head popping from the kitchen.

Ana Jarvis lifted her head from the book she was reading and smiled brightly at her husband.

"Of course darling."

Peggy watched her getting up, crossing and leaving the room to answer the door. Upon hearing the joyful voice exclaiming "Merry Christmas!", she knew at once who it belonged to.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Howard." She told the billionaire when he entered the living room. "and to you, Miss-" she hesitated, acknowledging Howard's current girlfriend.

"-Barnes. Elizabeth Barnes. But you can call me Bessie." The woman answered, smiling sweetly at her.

"Peggy Carter. Nice to meet you." she said smiling back.

"It smells so good! Whatever Jarvis is cooking must be excellent. As always." Howard exclaimed sniffing the air distractedly.

They all sat in the living room, talking about Howard next movie among other things. Something about a talented country girl following her Broadway dream. Bessie was actually playing the leading role.

Jarvis emerged from the kitchen at some point and joined their chatting, leaning lightly against the armchair Peggy was occupying. Howard eyed them curiously. She gave him an interrogative look, but he only shot her his best smile and turned to address Ana:

" You really outdid yourself with the decorations this year, Ana. I especially appreciated the lovely mistletoe you placed just above the front door. It gave me another excuse to kiss my sweetie pie..." he finished in a honeyed tone while winking at Bessie who chuckled merrily.

"Well..." Ana looked shyly from Howard to Jarvis, her cheeks taking a nice shade of pink. "I must confess that I placed a fair number of these all around the house. I couldn't resist it! It gave me another excuse to kiss my husband more than I usually do." She smiled coyly at the Englishman who's face had turned red.

The rest of the assembly laughed heartily at that confession. Then, Howard pointed with a triumphant smirk at a point above Peggy and Jarvis' heads. "I think I've found another one."

Both of them looked up then at each other with horror. Peggy was the first to get her composure back and stopped Howard before he said anything else.

"Don't even think of it" she snapped at him with a glare.

"Why not? It's the tradition after all! You guys _have_ to honour it." he responded matter-of-factly with a shrug.

She shot daggers at Howard "Very funny Howard. But that's not happening." she sharply said to him unamused:

"For my part, I don't see any objection." came Ana's voice.

Every head turned to look at her with eyes as big as saucers.

"Truly, it's just a little peck on the lips after all. There is no harm in that. I won't bother. And I'm sure it won't bother Edwin either to be kissed by such a lovely woman as Miss Carter, would it dear?"

Jarvis, who was speechless since Howard's remark, couldn't believe that his wife had just suggested that Miss Carter and himself would...

"B-But darling, I can't do this to you. Even if you asked me to." Jarvis protested quite confused.

"Edwin, it's just a game. Don't worry about my feelings on the matter. I won't feel betrayed if you kiss Miss Carter." Ana reassured him softly.

"Yeah, can't you two just play along? Even Ana says she's ok with it. Seriously Jarvis, any man would kill to have the chance you have." added Howard amused by the turn of events.

"W-Well I-." Jarvis tried to respond but was cut short by a tug at his tie.

The time of a heartbeat and Jarvis had only the time to catch himself on the arms of the chair he was leaning on previously before he was brought down to meet Peggy's soft lips with his own. They crushed so nicely but for such a brief time. It was only a brief kiss which ended as soon as it began, but the sensation was nevertheless powerful.

Peggy had had enough of that debate and thought that she had to do something and be done with it once and for all. So she kissed Jarvis. And the sensations she felt during that kiss were familiar sensations she never hoped to feel again. The last time she felt that way seemed so long ago...

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realise that she was staring intently at Jarvis. And that he was himself staring at her with the same intensity. They only snapped back to the present when Howard coughed loudly after some time had passed without either of them moving.

Embarrassed, they both looked away from each other and spent the rest of the evening avoiding looking at each other.

When the evening was finally over, Howard and his girlfriend headed home and Peggy helped the Jarvises with the cleaning. When most of it was done, she helped Jarvis to wash the dishes. At first, the deafening silence was only disturbed by the sound made by the dishes. But then, Jarvis broke that silence with a soft cough.

"Hum... Miss Carter. Do you remember that time when you told me that if we were to establish trust between us, we had to open up to each other?" he asked her, his eyes still focused on the dish he was washing.

"Yes I do, what of it?" she answered, waiting for him to explain himself.

"The day I decided to hand the Captain's blood to you, there is something I neglected to tell you. I told you that my reasons concerned my integrity but I must admit to you that it was not my sole motive. I had met the Captain during the war and he changed my life as he changed yours and Mr. Stark's." Jarvis explained.

Peggy was surprised by this revelation. She couldn't help but ask: "How so?"

"He saved my life." Jarvis said with a bright smile. "Actually, he saved a thousand lives that day. It happened during a difficult winter. A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line. The Captain fought his way through a HYDRA blockade that had pinned our allies down for months. I only had a glimpse of him and didn't have the occasion to thank him for saving me but I never forgot him. And after all, I would never have met you if it weren't for him."

Peggy smiled back at him. "A shame you didn't get to know him better. He was such a good man. You would have gotten along so well. You have much in common come to think of it"

"Really?"

"Yes. Let's see... You are both loyal, kind-hearted and guided by a strong set of values, and you both respect and recognise me for what I am unlike most men. That's just a few of them." She listed with a smirk.

They both continued with their task in a comfortable silence. When every dish was washed and put away to it's rightful place, it was finally time to bid each other good night.

"Thank you for sharing this with me, Mr. Jarvis" Peggy said before leaving the kitchen.

"It was a pleasure, Miss Carter." Jarvis replied before turning the lights off and heading to the bedroom he shared with his wife.


End file.
